


Promise

by GoldenEntertainment (orphan_account)



Series: Red Dead Redemption Collection [7]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Adult Content, Alternate Story, Arthur Morgan Deserves Happiness, Arthur Morgan Does Not Have Tuberculosis, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Awkward Flirting, Blood and Violence, Brotherhood, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fake Marriage, Father Figures, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, High Honor Arthur Morgan, Hurt/Comfort, John is actually a good dad/husband, Marriage, Micah is a dick, Pregnancy, Protective Arthur, Protective Dutch, Protective Hosea, Sexual Content, Sharing a Bed, Shy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 13:15:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19318933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/GoldenEntertainment
Summary: Arthur comes back to camp one day to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. One of the camp women, Mary Beth Gaskill, has asked him if he could come with him on a robbery. He doesn't know what to say, but after some time, he agrees. Only to find the robbery would bring them closer together, a little closer than friends. But being loyal to Dutch, and having his heart broken twice, he denies his feelings, making the situation too complicated and awkward between the two.





	Promise

It was a hot afternoon in the murky swamps of Shady Belle. The sun weaved through the branches and leaves of the nearby mangroves that grew in this harsh marshland. Arthur was smoking a cigarette and was skinning an alligator he found roaming a little too close to him for comfort when arriving back to camp, who picked up the skin, rolled it up and tied it to the back of Apollo's saddle. He brushed his big hooves against the strange substance that covered the top of the earth they stood on and let out a small huff. 

When he made his way back to camp, and it was still as peaceful as it was in the morning. The swamps gave off an unbearable stench which everyone hated. Arthur held his breathe and went further into the camp. Everything felt like it flopping around like those flags the feminists in Rhodes waved around. Everything was dead, except for him and the gang, who remained strong in this harsh marsh. Everybody hated the place, but Dutch seemed blind to the complaints about the place, it was really annoying to everyone as they all begged him more than once to leave, but he insisted it was a good place to stay. Arthur remembered seeing Mary Beth complaining to Dutch the other day. Saying how she was surprised he could think so hard with the aroma of rotting thyme around him. 

Arthur dropped off the pelt at Pearson's tent. Jack said hello to him and showed him a 'flower necklace' he made, it was made out of water lilies. It was still very pretty and made Arthur genuinely smile. Hosea was drinking some coffee with Lenny, both emerged in deep conversation. Arthur almost ran into Micah, but quickly steered away from him, not wanting to be his victim for his poison tongue.

He made his way to the mansion and found Mary Beth sitting on a sofa inside the living room, reading a book. Nothing out of the ordinary, so he sat down on the sofa opposite her and she looked up from her book a moment, he tried to ignore it and took out his journal and started drawing some plant he saw earlier that day, but he felt her stare begin to jab at his skin, so he looked up at her.

 "Can I help you?" He lit another cigarrete absentmindedly as he spoke, "You're making me uncomfortable,"

Mary Beth broke her gaze for a moment, "Sorry, I just... I just want to ask you something,"

She closed her book and straightened herself up a little, making the room fall into a thick sense of seriousness. 

 "You know when you tagged along with me and Sean on that robbery?"

 "Yes."

 "Well, Sean obviously didn't know what he was doing," she said. "You sort of made me feel like the robbery was going to go better,"

Arthur didn't see why she was making the situation so serious if she just wanted to say that. He kept quiet.

 "I'd like to go on a robbery," she said. "Pickpocketing never gets you anywhere,"

 "Well, I'm don't see you doing much more than that," Arthur laughed,

Mary Beth scoffed at the comment, "I stole a chicken when I ran from the orphanage, thank you very much!"

 "A chicken?" Arthur laughed, "That ain't much,"

 "Oh, come on," she was the one laughing now. "Give me a break."

They fell silent for a moment. Arthur looked out the window. The sun melted like a lemon drop, kissing the sky good night as it sank into the horizon, spreading into an orange and pink hue. Mary Beth looked back up at him, "Please?" she said,

Arthur looked at her, confused.

 "Please- please can I come on a robbery with you?" she said. "I'd like to try something bigger than chickens,"

 "Well..." Arthur didn't know what to say. "Well. I guess-"

Mary Beth looked at him with a long face. "Yes or no?"

The cogs in Arthurs mind spun for a moment before he looked back at the woman and smiled, "Sure,"

Her face immediately lit up at his agreement.

 "Thank you, Arthur!" she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead before getting up and rushing out the room.

 "Where are you going?" he asked, "We're not going right now."

 "I know, I'm just going to see if my shotgun still works, if not, I'll ask Karen for hers."

 "Alright, whenever you're ready, tell me and I'll find a house or a small shop we can rob," he told her. "Just, maybe find a pair of pants, it's a lot more effective than a skirt, and a bandana if you have one,"

Mary Beth smiled before opening the door and leaving the building. Arthur was, once again alone. Or so he thought.

 "Going on a robbery with Ms Gaskill, are you?" said a voice.

Arthur turned to behind him, where Abigail stood in the archway, her arms crossed and a sly smirk growing on her face.

Arthur sighed and turned back around, tapping his half-spent cigarrete in his fingers. "Yes," he said. "So?"

 "So? You're getting nicer!" she said. "Almost a month ago, you'd turn her down carelessly, now, you accepted."

 "I don't see why that's a big deal."

 "It's not." She laughed, sitting down next to him, placing a soft hand on his sweaty forearm. "It's just I'm happy for you."

Arthur sighed. "Abigail please..."

 "I know you don't like it when I get like this, but I just help but mention it!"

 "Now that you have, you can stop now."

Arthur crossed one leg over the other and tapped the foot in the air to a tune he had stuck in his head. Abigail watched his foot wave around and sat back. "I remember what you were like when I first joined." Arthur groaned internally. "You were the sad drunk who got thrown onto the saloon floor from the second story."

 "How the fuck do you remember that!?"

Abigail laughed. "I remember more than you think!"

 "That's... scary..." Arthur looked away for a moment down at his knees. "Please don't remind me of anything."

 "Sure."

They then heard Micah spit an insult at Jack and Abigail sat up almost immediately. She got up and stomped off outside. All Arthur heard after that was yelling from Abigail, a hard smack and Micah grumbling something. Arthur smiled at the thought of what could've happened. He got up and walked over into the kitchen and looked out the back window. A gator sat there, like a green, oily rock. Just waiting on the shore behind the mansion. Although it didn't seem like a threat, he knew it'd be soon. So he went out the back door to shoot it dead.


End file.
